By Pete Kloppenburg, Partner and Co-Founder

Probably the most abused and overused word in high tech marketing today is “solution”. Companies use the Solution Selling™ sales methodology; they boast of their integrated solutions; they continually tell anyone who will listen that they do not sell products, but solutions instead.

And what’s wrong with that? We all know that customers want solutions, and our offerings and services are so sophisticated and customizable that they deliver a far more complete package than the word “product” can capture. We know that we must sell holes, not drills.

There are actually a few big problems with this picture. The first, most obvious problem is that because everyone now claims to deliver solutions, it is no longer a point of competitive differentiation. In fact, because many “solutions” are simply products in drag, the word has lost much of its potency. Certainly all your rivals in any large sale will be touting their solutions, and your customers probably don’t even hear the word any more. The other problems are more subtle, and more damaging. They center on the question of what a solution really is. In high tech marketing, when a company describes their solution, they are typically referring to a set of systems, components and tools, and the consulting and customization that goes into setting them up. But from your customer’s point of view, a solution is much more.

A solution as your customer experiences it includes the data, business processes, personnel, and strategic objectives that animate the technical system. Their solution won’t actually solve their problem unless all these elements are in place.

What’s more, they know that they will have to put almost all of that in place themselves. They can look to you for help and expertise and technology, but in the end they have to solve their own problems. And this means one important lesson that high tech companies must always remember:

In the end, it’s not your solution, it’s their solution.

One clean way to cut through all the solution noise out there is to change the emphasis in your message away from your company’s solution to your customer’s solution. Stop telling them how your solution will fix their problem; instead, tell them how you will help them create their own solution. Show them how well you understand their own, bigger vision of a solution, or better yet, help them form that vision. But keep them at the center of the solution, and not just passive buyers of someone else’s solution.

This strategy has several big benefits.

First, as I said, it cuts through all the empty solution talk and brings your message closer to your customers’ own point of view. The faster and better your customers’ can relate to your message, the more effective it will be.

Second, it flatters your customers and makes them the hero of their own story. Far too many high tech companies’ marketing consists of love letters to themselves, congratulating themselves for their amazing successes. Customers are far more interested in hearing about their own success, both as individuals and as companies.

Third, taking the supporting role in your customer’s success story is much more credible than sweeping statements that promise your customers that they will not have to do much of anything. By all means continue to work to fill out your offering to more completely meet your customers’ needs. But you will only build trust with your customers when you acknowledge that no product will solve their problem completely. Let your rivals make the empty promises.

Finally, putting your customers at the center of their own solution is a great opportunity to build value throughout the sale. The wider your vision of a solution, the more chances you have to help your customers reach their own solution. Talking to your customers about the components to the solution that aren’t included in your actual product offering can uncover opportunities for your products and services to improve. You may even uncover other problems they have that your other products can help with.

And by building up your credibility and making your customers the heroes in their own story, you will be in a prime position to make that next sale.